2007 Yazidi communities bombings
The 2007 Yazidi communities bombings occurred at around 8pm local time on August 14, 2007, when four co-ordinated suicide bomb attacks detonated in the Yazidi towns of Kahtaniya and Jazeera (Siba Sheikh Khidir), near Mosul. Iraqi Red Crescent's estimates say the bombs killed 796 and wounded 1,562 people,Reuters AlertNet - FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Jan 20[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/22/world/middleeast/22iraq-top.html?_r=1&hp&oref=login Damien Cave and James Glanz, "Toll in Iraq Truck Bombings Is Raised to More Than 500", New York Times (August 21, 2007).] making this the Iraq War's most deadly car bomb attack during the period of major American combat operations. It was also the second deadliest act of terrorism in history, following only behind the September 11 attacks in the United States. Tensions and background There had been tensions in the area in recent months, particularly between Yazidis and Sunni Muslims (Muslims including Arabs and Kurds). Prior to the attack, some Yazidis living in the area received threatening letters calling them "infidels".Arwa Damon, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Raja Razek, "Iraqi officials: Truck bombings killed at least 500," CNN.com Leaflets were also distributed denouncing Yazidis as "anti-Islamic" and warning them that an attack was imminent.NPR: General Calls Attack on Yazidis 'Ethnic Cleansing'BBC NEWS | Middle East | Minority targeted in Iraq bombings The attack might be connected to an incident wherein Du’a Khalil Aswad, a Yazidi teenage woman, was stoned to death. Aswad was believed to have wanted to convert in order to marry a Sunni.Survivors of bombs left to die in rubble - Times Onlinehttp://english.aljazeera.net/secretiraqfiles/2010/10/20101022161025428625.html Two weeks later, after a video of the stoning appeared on the Internet, Sunni gunmen[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/world/middleeast/15cnd-iraq.html Stephen Farell, "Death Toll in Iraq Bombings Rises to 250", New York Times (August 15, 2007).] stopped minibuses filled with Yazidis; 23 Yazidi men were forced from a bus and shot dead. The Sinjar area which has a mixed population of Kurds, Turkmen and Arabs was scheduled to vote in a plebiscite on accession to the Kurdish region in December 2007. This caused hostility among the neighbouring Arab communities. A force of 600 Kurdish Peshmerga was subsequently deployed in the area, and ditches were dug around Yazidi villages to prevent further attacks.NPR: Yazidis Live Among Reminders of Deadly Attack Details The blasts targeted a religious minority, the Yazidi.BBC NEWS | Middle East | Deadly Iraq sect attacks kill 200Dozens killed in multiple suicide attacks in Iraq - CNN.com The co-ordinated bombings involved a fuel tanker and three cars. An Iraqi interior ministry spokesman said that two tons of explosives were used in the blasts, which crumbled buildings, trapping entire families beneath mud bricks and other wreckage as entire neighborhoods were flattened. Rescuers dug underneath the destroyed buildings by hand to search for remaining survivors.Iraqi Interior Ministry: 400 killed in suicide bombings in northern Iraq - Israel News, Ynetnews "Hospitals here are running out of medicine. The pharmacies are empty. We need food, medicine and water otherwise there will be an even greater catastrophe," said Abdul-Rahim al-Shimari, mayor of the Baaj district, which includes the devastated villages.[http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-08-16-iraq-thursday_N.htm Associated Press, "Shiites, Kurds form alliance", USA Today (Aug. 16, 2007.] Responsibility The attacks carry Al-Qaeda's signature of multiple simultaneous attacks. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. "We're looking at Al-Qaeda as the prime suspect," said Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, a United States military spokesman.[http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1294152007 Paul Tait, Baghdad, "Al-Qaeda blamed for Yazidi carnage", The Scotsman (August 16, 2007)] The group is reported to have distributed leaflets denouncing Yazidis as "anti-Islamic". Others, including Iraq's President, Jalal Talabani, blamed the bombings on "Iraqi Sunni Muslim Arab insurgents" seeking to undercut Premier Maliki's conclave to end political deadlock among the country's leaders.[http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/00A2C79C-90C2-419F-8546-0AA58ADC1335.htm "Killings stoke tension in Iraq city", AlJazeera.net] On September 3, 2007, the U.S. military reportedly killed the mastermind of the bombings, Abu Mohammed al-Afri.AFP: Qaeda militant behind deadliest Iraq attack killed: US References Category:Yazidi Category:Suicide car and truck bombings in Iraq Category:Terrorist incidents in Iraq in 2007 Category:Mass murder in 2007